Saturday, December 31, 2011

Whatever you believe about 2012, there's no doubt that both human and non-human communities are changing rapidly. And that large numbers of us expect further, profound change of some kind to happen. That expectation alone is going to have tremendous influence in the coming months.

I do not believe in predicting the future, I believe in intending it and collaboratively creating it. Part of my preparation for navigating the coming passage in human consciousness is to cultivate my awareness of my own goodness. Here are some of the thoughts I focus on often...

I am a human being and I come from the Source. The Source that made me is good, and I am a good emanation of that Source. My heart is good. My yoni (Sanskrit word for female genitals) is good. My pancreas is good. My mouth is good.

I work with the aspects of my body that for various reasons have lost the completeness of their connection to their natural goodness.

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I learn what goodness looks like in action by observing natural/physical/biological intelligence in action.

Unlike humanity, natural/physical/biological intelligence always perseveres in expressing the goodness of the Source. In my view, one of the particular challenges of being human is to know we are good and to choose to express our goodness. The other life forms basically "just do it." We get to choose.

Even when natural/physical/biological intelligence is deviated from the goodness of the Source by our pollution, pillage, and genetic modification, it persists in reflecting the goodness of the Source by demonstrating to us that polluting and pillaging and genetic modifying do not support all life and vitality in the way that undeviated natural/physical/biological intelligence does.

You and I can learn, and change. Or we can suffer from lowered life force and vitality. Natural/physical/biological intelligence supports us either way.... by showing us what works, and by showing us what doesn't work.

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I come from Source, and I am good. I choose to learn how to express my intrinsic goodness, gifted to me from the Source.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

"...you might well like to be reminded of the fact that within every tone... exists a series of tones... in alignment with your thinking, there is 'naturally' existing diversity within unity and unity within diversity."

The video following demonstrates one way to create with these tones that are "embedded" in all sounds.

In this 50-second rendition of "Amazing Grace," the singer uses techniques of Tuvan throat singing to amplify various tones that are always present inside the fundamental tone that he sings—these "already present'" tones are called overtones. He amplifies one overtone after another to create the melody of this well known song. The fascinating part of all this is that ALL the tones he needs to create the melody are always present as harmonics or overtones of the fundamental pitch (the low sound he maintains throughout). He's basically making movements in his mouth and throat that allow him to choose among those tones.

Watching this video inspired me to think on the question, "What is amazing grace?"

When I hurtle down a highway in a car, and see trees growing in the median, living 24/7 amidst pollution, noise, and people who barely notice them, I see amazing grace in action.

When I see bees enthusiastically burrowing into flowers, helping create the seeds and fruits that will nourish another generation of people and animals, despite the fact that millions, if not billions, of them have recently died from pesticides and other factors that encourage colony collapse disorder, I see amazing grace in action.

When I hear crows calling to each other across my suburban town, staying in touch through the transformation of their world into a sea of monoculture lawns and roofs, I hear amazing grace in action.

Truly, I am profoundly amazed some days that life still thrives on this planet. I'm not saying this to engender shame feelings in any of us humans (though more sensitivity to our authentic shame here and there with respect to the disrespect we show the other life forms could help our situation out!) I'm saying all this mainly to inspire you to receive the amazing grace that natural/physical/biological intelligence offers you. Let Nature give to you what Nature wants to give you... and then mutuality will arise between you and Nature... and the life force will flourish ever more exuberantly.****************************************

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Do you love and respect the feminine energy currents within you and within others?Here's one simple way to start exploring the question... how do you feel about menstruation and the menstrual cycle in general?From my perspective, the menstrual cycle is a core structure in the "feminine wing" of humanity. But it sure doesn't get to contribute to our collective evolution very much, at least on the conscious levels.Instead, men and women alike are taught that menstruation is shameful, taboo, and almost inevitably painful.I have profoundly challenged these ideas in my life and found that menstruation can be an ecstatically pleasurable experience, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. If you are interested in knowing more about how to get there yourself, feel free to email me... I'm happy to send you an article I've written on this subject.Here's an ad about the "feminine wing," which I offer in a spirit of playfulness... please note that I personally do not recommend the use of menstrual pads made from bleached, artificial, and synthetic materials.I consider my yoni to be a place designed to give life and birth, not to be rubbed against materials that have been excessively manipulated in what I consider an unbalanced direction. I just couldn't resist though, the word play involved in imagining a maxi pad that has wings! I'd love to see awareness of the power of the menstrual cycle "take flight" across the globe, so that humanity can access the wisdom and life force inherent in this feminine life process.

When the cell receptor site embraces the hormone, the cell activates.When the agenda book receives the writing of the pen, the person has a "to do" list—a list filled, one hopes, with pleasurable activities.

Humans have a much wider range of choice than the other beings on the planet. Such a wide range, in fact, that we are capable of moving against the flows of Divinely inspired creativity, justice, wisdom, and love.We are also capable of dragging other beings along with us on such ill-advised paths.When we misuse the interaction of feminine and masculine, we wound ourselves in the most profound ways.The embrace of the masculine by the feminine and the gifting into the feminine by the masculine are intimate and vulnerable procedures. Amongst humans, these procedures can be used to facilitate everything from respectful, loving connection to petty thievery to plunder and rape. Any pleasure gained from thievery or rape is of extremely low quality and will severely impact the viability of the bodies of the people involved. This is similar to how the embrace of the mouth around a low quality food will severely impact the viability of the body attached to that mouth.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

When I question them, I often find though that their understanding of harmony is unrealistic.

From a musical perspective, harmony is a skilled and creative use of difference.

Two or more different pitches (some higher, some lower) are sounded at the same time, and the relationships between these different pitches are harmonious.

The word harmony originates with the Greekharmonía, which means joint,framework,agreement. This word is akintohárma, chariot,harmós,joint, and ararískein,tojoin together.

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A critical musical skill is being able to "hold your own" while someone else makes different sounds than you are making. Only when both of you are centered in your individual sounds, can you "join together" to make harmony.

In large musical groups, people may be making many different pitches (higher or lower sounds) and rhythms simultaneously. When the people are skilled, the end result sounds harmonious and beautiful.

I invite you to consider the realities of harmony next time you think that peace on this planet can be created by the denial, suppression, overlooking, or dismissal of difference. (Which strikes me as the general strategy being attempted in too many cases.)

You are not the same as your neighbor. An oak tree is not the same as a squirrel. One spiritual path does not brings its adherents to the same destination as another.

By definition, we cannot create harmony as long as we try to deny the truth of difference with nice sounding platitudes about how we're all "the same underneath." It's also interesting to me that we feel so threatened by difference. I believe we are confused. We think that disharmony is created by difference, rather than by lack of skill in working with difference.

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True unity of human hearts and minds will occur when we ALL accept one another's differences and learn how to make skilled, creative use of those differences to bring us ALL into greater states of aliveness and pleasure. Those who refuse to take ALL into account, eventually find themselves starved for music.

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One of my favorite musical forms is Georgian polyphony. The following video, featuring the Georgian Harmony Choir and the sun gives you a short (2:39) introduction to this amazing music. It's immediately obvious that to succeed in forming this harmonious sonic tapestry, each singer has to be able to make his or her sound while also carefully listening to the other singers.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

I'm not trying to raise funds for the women whose video I play below (they posted this on Kickstarter)... I just really like this design idea—it reminds me of the incredible metamorphic abilities of natural/physical/biological intelligence. Natural/physical/biological intelligence knows all about using the same cloth/material to create different form/function packages.

Nature is...the ultimate in versatility.

The video about the Versalette is 2:18 in length, followed by Swedish caterpillars demonstrating their metamorphic abilities in a time lapse video that's 2:25 minutes long. The Swedish caterpillars turn into amazingly beautiful Swedish butterflies that I've never had the privilege of seeing before.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

By "pleasure" I mean enlivened feelings that are in alignment with my life purposes and my physical vitality.

Many so-called pleasures lose their allure when considered from this larger context.

When we consciously work with natural/biological/physical intelligence to gain guidance on how to embody our life purposes and increase our energy and vitality, our pleasure expands steadily, along a balanced, non-addicted path.

To me, this pleasure is valuable beyond words, because it is a whole-body experience, that extends from the atomic and subatomic particles that make up my internal organs, to the outer reaches of my electromagnetic structures. When we experience pleasure, we rightfully want more of it. We start noticing which ways of living dampen pleasure, and which ways of living strengthen it, and our creativity is sparked—we work on figuring out how to create more pleasure.

If all of us insisted daily on experiencing more pleasure, pleasure that enlivens us, many grave and potentially disastrous problems on Planet Earth would be solved quickly. For example if we were seriously committed to our own pleasure, I doubt many of us would want to wear clothing whose manufacture involved suffering. And as the singer in the video below reminds us, there's a fine line between pleasure and pain! What looks so good on the rack might not be as appealing if we researched who made it and how. Deception, secrecy (when's the last time you found a clothing tag with a picture of the factory on it?) and seduction are very powerful forces when combined with an anticipation of pleasure—"that dress is gonna look great on me!"Please don't misunderstand me. I take great pleasure in seeing and wearing beautiful clothes. What I'm exploring here is the question of what pleasure and beauty look like when we take the whole of a situation into account.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The paradigm I'm working in is that everything in our physical world is part of natural/physical/biological intelligence.

That includes your clothing.

In the United States, where I live, the weekend following Thanksgiving is when all kinds of stuff is discounted heavily. People who've spent days preparing the Thanksgiving party then chase deals. Hours-long line-ups (some last all night long) and intensely crowded shopping conditions are the norm on "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving. Sometimes violence erupts.

The retailers offering these discounts claim we'll save money if we shop at these sales. And... my time, energy, and calm are all very valuable to me. In fact, the state of my time, energy, and mood impacts my earning power. So I never participate in this shopping ritual. I just don't think the potential dollars saved are worth my time, energy, and stress.

Then there are the people who participate from far away—they usually live in neighborhoods middle class buyers don't often visit, and they're the ones who pay for our discounts.

They're the ones who, for instance, make clothing for less and less pay. The clothing that sits on our skin all day... and has been touched with hands of fear (will I be able to feed my loved ones?) and anger (this is unfair!) and shame (is working for peanuts so that richer people can dress themselves cheap all I'm good for?)

I embrace the truth held in the fear, anger, and shame of people who've been backed into a corner.

And what about us, the people who wear these clothes? Natural/physical/biological intelligence does not discriminate. It accepts and reflects all thoughts, all human choices. While we may not often give thought to the suffering of cotton or polyester, these materials do have intelligence, as does all of physical reality. I'm certain that cloth would prefer not to be caught up in a web of exploitation either. And—if your clothing has been made by a person who's exploited, then you are bringing the energies of exploitation home to your own skin every time you wear that clothing.

p.s. Let's consider "the hypocrisy factor"—here I am inviting you to do something. So what do I do?... I am a fairly low-income person at this point in my life. As a result, I buy about 85 to 90 percent of my clothes secondhand, and anything new I buy, I expect to last at least a decade. So my clothes are mostly one step removed from what was probably unfair beginnings. The money I spend on my secondhand clothes goes to support a local hospice. My eventual aim is to make enough money that I can afford to buy all my clothing, in fact, all my "stuff," newly made at fair trade prices. I'm working on it!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The previous three posts have been about the dynamic of disorientation and upset, and productive ways to respond to those feelings.

The big science news this week is a potential upset of models of the world once considered to be inviolate. It seems that some neutrinos (subatomic particles) may have been observed to travel faster than the speed of light. Here's a short video, with comments I really enjoyed, about this potential change in the way we understand the world: http://youtu.be/IiaIJx0j5nY

The whole idea behind collaboration with natural/physical/biological intelligence is that we don't live in a world that "behaves" and "acts" in certain ways... we live in a world that invites us to dance with the many other beings who inhabit it.

Everyone who's here (human and non-human) is evolving, learning, and growing. Everyone who's here has infinite potential, including the potential to travel at various speeds.

From my perspective, the "laws" of science are ultimately simply our best description of the current tendencies and habits of some of the other beings we're sharing space and time with. But those beings, like us, can change.

We will start realizing the full potential of our lives when a. we finally get that no matter what we think we're doing, we are actually part of the dance, not just watching the show, and b. when we develop a level of courtesy, respect, and skill that matches that of our countless would-be partners.

I promised some humor, and here it is... the lighter side of disorientation and upset!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Breathing is a form of collaboration with natural/physical/biological intelligence that you do 24/7. If you let it, breathing can teach you vast and profound vistas of how to partner your soul's intention (the tourist ; ) with the wisdom of bodily (natural/physical/biological) intelligence (the tour guide ; ).Sometimes you are more consciously engaged with breathing. Sometimes you are thinking about other things and your body intelligence just keeps going, bringing that necessary air in and out.How would it feel to acknowledge your natural/physical/biological intelligence for keeping your breath going, even when you are focused on other things?How would it feel to acknowledge your natural/physical/biological intelligence for keeping billions of things going, even when you are focused on other things?What a relief, we don't have to depend on our conscious, verbal awareness to keep our life processes going, second by second! Our natural/biological/physical intelligence is 100 percent committed to the life process already. And wants to do the work involved. Yes, getting out of the way can feel new, different, and unwinding/unhinging of the past to the point of causing disorientation and upset. (See previous post.) Sometimes it's not possible to learn something better without transiting through some disorientation and upset. In everyday parlance, it's called "getting out of your comfort zone."My personal favorite approach to breathing in harmony with natural/physical/biological intelligence these days is found in the work of Leslie Kaminoff, of The Breathing Project yoga studio in NYC. Here's a six-minute introduction from Leslie Kaminoff to some foundational ideas related to learning how to breathe in harmony with our body's structural design:

If you tend to sweep the reality of your life under a mental or emotional rug, or have been forced by others to do so, a dialogue with Nature intelligence could be upsetting or disorienting because natural/physical/biological intelligence always aims you towards truth.

If you are in a state of illness of any kind, working with natural/physical/ biological intelligence may lead you to feel that your symptoms are suddenly looming large—that's because they are being brought into sharper focus.Last but not least, you could be working too hard or trying too hard, and stressing yourself.

Think of Nature intelligence as a breeze blowing through your hair or an ocean wave bobbing you up and down. When you dialogue with natural/physical/biological intelligence, you'll have the most pleasure, even if you are ill, even if you are used to denial, if you just let the breeze blow, and let the wave roll.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Natural/physical/biological intelligence, left to its own devices, always moves towards pleasure, balance, and vitality.

Yet, for some people, some of the time, dialogues with natural/physical/biological intelligence can be upsetting.

All of us have individual responses to any stimulus.

If you're not experiencing overall greater pleasure, balance, and vitality when engaged in dialogues with natural/physical/biological intelligence, you're missing out on something. This statement is not a criticism of you, it's offered in a spirit of support. I want you to experience greater pleasure, balance, and vitality on an ongoing basis. More to come in upcoming posts! In the meantime, I found this video that gives some hints about the ways in which we have difficulty receiving Nature's love and respect.

Yes, it takes courage to face natural/physical/biological intelligence without trying to get it under control. The previous five posts have discussed how to dialogue with natural/physical/biological intelligence. Let's use those growing skills to access and build our reserves of courage.

Gentle reminders... if you follow the steps laid out below, you enter a dialogue with natural/biological/physical intelligence. You are not just talking to yourself. Offer your intention to your partner with confidence, sincerity, and concentration. Then take an attitude of listening, witnessing, observation as your partner in this dialogue, natural/physical/biological intelligence, responds to you. Stay supple—without rigid ideas of what courage might look or feel like in this moment.

1. Pay attention to your breathing until you notice how pleasurable it is to breathe. You are now entering the "zone." (See post of Wednesday, August 17.)

2. State, "Nature, I give you 100 percent permission to activate my courage at this moment, in accordance with my life purpose and Nature's balance and vitality, to the maximum extent possible."

3. Quietly observe, witness, listen.

4. When you feel that the wave of Nature's response is complete, state, "Thank you, Nature."

5. If you feel like recording your experience through some medium or another, feel free... if it's something you want to do, going ahead will likely help the experience become a stronger foundation for future dialogues with Nature intelligence.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

The reward for cultivating suppleness in response to natural/physical/biological intelligence is that we gain our own uniqueness. In a culture of mass production and ongoing, relentless pressure towards conformist thinking, gaining our uniqueness is no small prize.

What strikes you as a more supple way to move through your day today? Or if that's too overwhelming a thought, how could you be more physically, emotionally, or mentally supple in the next hour? Note that suppleness is not a compromise, and you will know you're on the right track if you feel, even for only a moment, that you are suddenly more yourself.

For another, less abstract approach to this question, spend three or four minutes imagining you are a living blade of grass, rooted in the ground and bending in the wind, or a lithe cat or fox, stretching your muscles in new ways. How about feeling yourself as an earthworm? Now there's a most supple creature that nonetheless is collectively responsible for moving and creating vast tons of soil.

Here's the human world meeting a fox's world—and this fox is certainly exhibiting great suppleness and aliveness!:

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Over time, with practice, the difference between your thinking and communication from natural/physical/biological intelligence becomes crystal clear.

At that point, you will have no problem trusting that a two-way dialogue with a force and a wisdom other than yourself is taking place. It will be so obvious to you that you'll wonder how you could ever have questioned or doubted it.

What's more, you won't be a candidate for the "funny farm," despite the culture's ridicule of tree huggers and animal psychics. Spending regular, quality time with natural/physical/biological intelligence sharpens the mind, heals the body, and enlivens the emotions.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

"Just remember that a dialogue with natural/physical/biological intelligence is a dialogue.

"There are two parties involved—1. You. 2. Nature intelligence.

"If you are stating an intention with presence, sincerity, and concentration, and you don't want to just talk to yourself, the next step is to give the other side the space and time required to demonstrate that it hears you and it responds to you."

I think that another major "sticking point" at this juncture is trust. To give Nature intelligence space and time to respond, requires trust on our side. Otherwise, we'll rush in, trying to control events.

Developing trust in natural/physical/biological intelligence necessitates that we heal our abandonment wounds so that we aren't caught off guard when Nature intelligence responds to us in ways that don't meet our expectations of the mothering we never had.

I have been working with my own abandonment wounding quite intensively over the past few weeks, via the following dialogue with natural/physical/biological intelligence: "Nature, I give you 100 percent permission to shift my abandonment patterns to patterns of abundant, respectful, balanced attention that comes in the forms of ... " I then list the forms of attention I desire. I wait until I feel Nature intelligence is finished reorganizing my body for that session, and then I thank natural/physical/biological intelligence for the work it has done.

I do not believe that this work with Nature intelligence can change the behavior of anyone who might want to abandon me. Getting back to a major theme of this post, we cannot ultimately control the free choices of others. We can, however, leave behind our tendencies to become enmeshed in abandoning relationships. We can increase our ability to notice, receive, and celebrate enlivening attentiveness and care from Nature and those humans willing to offer it to us.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Stating an intention, what it is we want to accomplish, is easy for most people. Stating that intention with great presence and one-pointed concentration is also within the realm of everyday experience for most of us, at least in short spurts. Probably people with meditation experience are better at it.

It's the next step that can cause difficulty, It is indeed quite culturally alien to many of us to allow our bodily intelligence, and by extension, the natural/physical/biological intelligence that embraces us, to just do its own thing.

"Trying," "working," and generally being dictatorial towards natural/physical/biological intelligence within the bounds of our own body and home are much more the order of the day.

So here's the key to resolving this particular "sticking point" in working with natural/physical/biological intelligence.

Just remember that a dialogue with natural/physical/biological intelligence is a dialogue.

There are two parties involved—1. You. 2. Nature intelligence.

If you are stating an intention with presence, sincerity, and concentration, and you don't want to just talk to yourself, the next step is to give the other side the space and time required to demonstrate that it hears you and it responds to you.

It's just like having a conversation with another person. If you never stop talking, you'll never hear what the other person knows.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

To be successful, dialoguing with natural/physical/biological intelligence requires what might be called a "yin" attitude. Receptive, open, a willingness to learn.

Most meditation practices are quite different than dialoguing with natural/physical/biological intelligence.

When you dialogue with Nature intelligence, you don't visualize energy going anywhere, as in many Taoist and Tantric practices. Neither do you try to do anything in particular with your mind, other than to listen to your soul's partner in the life enterprise, namely natural/biological/physical intelligence. In dialoguing with Nature intelligence, you decide what it is you want to have happen in your body and/or your consciousness, and you let Nature intelligence provide the how by which it happens.

In this exploration, there are techniques, but no hard and fast formulations as to how things work.

When we tell Nature what it is we want to accomplish, images and words may come to our awareness. Nature's images usually combine instruction, customization to your life history and needs, great liveliness, density and multi-layering of meaning, and often humor... all at once! The quality with which natural/physical/biological intelligence "speaks" is unmistakeable, and distinct from the qualities of human-initiated communication or art-making.

When Nature intelligence is allowed free play, your life energy might—and in my life, often does—move and reorganize the body in complex, organic, subtle, never-repeated patterns.

To get the most out of a dialogue with Nature intelligence, it's important to set aside all preconceptions, even ideas that you carry from holistic and spiritual traditions. While all traditions of knowledge, whether they be western, eastern, northern, southern, holistic, analytic, meditative, goal-oriented, spiritual/religious, or atheist/agnostic carry truth about Nature intelligence, no tradition carries the whole truth about Nature intelligence. That whole truth can only be supplied by natural/physical/biological intelligence itself and communicated to us in bits and pieces as we expand our receptivity.

It's my view that the combination of beauty, fluidity, and power you can see in motion in this video comes from an attitude of receptivity to and creative/collaborative partnership between the human soul and natural/physical/biological intelligence.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

As a result, living our life purposes would become much easier to accomplish.

Our creativity, and therefore our culture's institutions and infrastructure, would reflect Nature's intelligence. Precision and spontaneous responsiveness would exist in balance with one another. Order would not be rigid and hierarchical, but rather, beautiful and organic. Exuberant variety and originality would fit in seamlessly with the whole.

Our relationship, family, and community structures would reflect ecosystems, in which diverse beings live life woven into a network of mutual support. The group would acknowledge the value that every person's uniqueness brings to the network, and every person would feel that their authentic contributions are of tremendous value to the group.

Marketing and salesmanship as ways of life could cease. The emphasis would not be on convincing others that you have something of value to offer. The social emphasis would be on assisting you to become your most authentic self, so that the full depth and breadth of your contribution could be made available to all.

This video discusses the advances being made in our partnership with Nature intelligence in the scientific field.